The Rudd Labor Government has today announced the funding that each and every local councils and shire in the Northern Territory will receive this year through the Financial Assistance Grants program.

All up, Northern Territory local governments will receive more than $27.4 million in Financial Assistance Grants in 2009-10, with around 70 per cent of the grants going to rural and remote councils.

This funding is the equivalent of nearly $129 for every Northern Territory resident. Without these annual grants, local residents could be paying higher council rates for the same level of service.

The Rudd Government brought forward more than $6.8 million of this funding to June to help Northern Territory local governments deal with the effects of the global recession.

The grant is untied so that councils and shires can spend these funds on local priorities such as local roads, parks and pools, libraries, community centres and waste, environmental and other services.

The Rudd Government understands how important the grants are for local communities where they can comprise more than half the revenue for some councils.

The Financial Assistance Grants for Northern Territory are in addition to:

• $13.2 million through the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program since November 2008; and


• $5.6 million under the Roads to Recovery program in 2009-10.

The Northern Territory’s 17 local governing bodies will receive their first quarterly payment this week.

The Financial Assistance Grant allocation is determined independently in accordance with the recommendations of the Northern Territory Local Government Grants Commission.

Details of the allocations are available at http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/local/assistance